TRASH IN MY EYE Reviews

Friday, February 26, 2010

AMC Theatres Showing All 2010 Oscar Best Picture Nominess This Weekend

Oscar® Starts This Weekend: AMC Theatres® Will Begin Showing All ‘Best Picture’ Nominees on Feb. 27

Tickets on Sale at www.AMCEntertainment.com/BPS and at Participating Theatres

KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AMC Theatres® (AMC), a leading theatrical exhibition and entertainment company, kicks off its extended AMC Best Picture ShowcaseSM this weekend on Saturday, Feb. 27. The program offers guests the rare opportunity to experience all the films nominated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for “Best Picture” at 90 theatres in 46 markets. For 2010, the “Best Picture” category doubled in size and guests will be enjoying this year’s AMC Best Picture Showcase during back-to-back weekends, Saturday, Feb. 27 and Saturday, March 6 (a complete theatre list with schedules is available at www.AMCEntertainment.com/BPS).

In addition, AMC has added a new element for its most enthusiastic fans, a special 24-hour marathon of all 10 “Best Picture” nominated films in five select markets beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday, March 6: Chicago (AMC River East 21), Los Angeles (AMC 30 at the Block), New York (AMC Empire 25), Toronto (AMC Whitby 24) and Washington, D.C. (AMC Georgetown 14).

Tickets for the marathon and the Two-Day and One-Day passes are available on a first-come, first-served basis online at www.AMCEntertainment.com/BPS or by visiting the box office or Guest Services area at any participating theatre. As in previous years, with the purchase of a pass, attendees receive a large popcorn with unlimited refills and a souvenir lanyard, featuring artwork from the films and giving guests the freedom to come and go throughout the event.

AMC Best Picture Showcase Pass Purchasing Options:

New! 24-Hour Marathon Pass (includes all 10 films beginning March 6 at 12:01 a.m. in select markets)

$45: Online and box office price available either at AMCEntertainment.com/BPS or at participating theatres

Two-Day Pass (includes all 10 films on Feb. 27 and March 6)

$60: Online price available at AMCEntertainment.com/BPS (Discount available at participating box offices only)

$50: Box office bundled discount price available only at participating AMC Best Picture Showcase theatres

$40: MovieWatcher® member price available only at participating AMC Best Picture Showcase theatre box offices

One-Day Pass (includes five films on Feb. 27 OR March 6)

$30: Online and box office price available either at AMCEntertainment.com/BPS or at participating theatres

$25: MovieWatcher member price available only at participating AMC Best Picture Showcase theatre box offices

About AMC Entertainment Inc.
Headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., AMC Entertainment Inc. is a leading theatrical exhibition and entertainment company. With a history of industry leadership and innovation dating back to 1920, the company today serves hundreds of millions of guests annually through interests in 299 theatres with 4,528 screens in five countries. www.AMCEntertainment.com.

Oscar® is the registered trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

41st NAACP Image Award Nominees - Film and TV Writing and Directing Categories

41st NAACP Image Awards Nominees - TV Categories

The NAACP Image Awards are awards presented annually by the NAACP or National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The awards honor outstanding people of color and their work and performances in film, television, music, and literature.

Like the Grammy and Oscars, members of the NAACP vote for nominees and winners of the Image Awards. There are also honorary awards, including the President's Award, the Chairman's Award, Entertainer of the Year and The Image Award Hall of Fame.

The awards were first presented in 1970. Fox Network will broadcast live the 41st edition of the awards show, Friday, February 26, 2010 at 8/7 PM Central.

Television Categories

Outstanding Comedy Series
"30 Rock" (NBC)
"Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)
"Glee" (FOX)
"Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
"Ugly Betty" (ABC)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Daryl "Chill" Mitchell – "Brothers" (FOX)
Donald Faison – "Scrubs" (NBC)
Dulé Hill – "Psych" (USA Network)
LaVan Davis – "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
Tyler James Williams – "Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
America Ferrera – "Ugly Betty" (ABC)
Cassi Davis – "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
CCH Pounder – "Brothers" (FOX)
Sherri Shepherd – "Sherri" (Lifetime)
Tichina Arnold – "Everybody Hates Chris" (CW)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Lamman Rucker – "Tyler Perry's Meet the Browns" (TBS)
Lance Gross – "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
Larenz Tate – "Rescue Me" (FX)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner – "Sherri" (Lifetime)
Tracy Morgan – "30 Rock" (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Ana Ortiz – "Ugly Betty" (ABC)
Keshia Knight Pulliam – "Tyler Perry's House of Payne" (TBS)
Tisha Campbell-Martin – "Rita Rocks" (Lifetime)
Vanessa Williams – "Ugly Betty" (ABC)
Wendy Raquel Robinson – "The Game" (CW)

Outstanding Drama Series
"Cold Case" (CBS)
"Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
"HawthoRNe" (TNT)
"Lincoln Heights" (ABC Family)
"The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Anthony Anderson – "Law & Order" (NBC)
Hill Harper – "CSI: NY" (CBS)
LL Cool J – "NCIS: Los Angeles" (CBS)
Laurence Fishburne – "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" (CBS)
Taye Diggs – "Private Practice" (ABC)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Chandra Wilson – "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
Jada Pinkett Smith – "HawthoRNe" (TNT)
Jill Scott – "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" (HBO)
Regina King – "Southland" (NBC)
Sandra Oh – "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Corey Reynolds – "The Closer" (TNT)
Delroy Lindo – "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC)
James Pickens, Jr. – "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC)
Mekhi Phifer – "Lie To Me" (FOX)
Rocky Carroll – "NCIS" (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Anika Noni Rose – "The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency" (HBO)
Audra McDonald – "Private Practice" (ABC)
Gabrielle Union – "Flash Forward" (ABC)
Jurnee Smollett – "Friday Night Lights" (NBC)
S. Epatha Merkerson – "Law & Order" (NBC)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
"America" (Lifetime)
"Brick City" (Sundance)
"Georgia O'Keeffe" (Lifetime)
"Gifted Hands" (TNT)
"Relative Stranger" (Hallmark)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Cuba Gooding Jr. – "Gifted Hands" (TNT)
Eriq La Salle – "Relative Stranger" (Hallmark)
Gus Hoffman – "Gifted Hands" (TNT)
Jaishon Fisher – "Gifted Hands" (TNT)
Philip Johnson – "America" (Lifetime)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Aunjanue Ellis – "Gifted Hands" (TNT)
Cicely Tyson – "Relative Stranger" (Hallmark)
Kimberly Elise – "Gifted Hands" (TNT)
Rosie O'Donnell – "America" (Lifetime)
Ruby Dee – "America" (Lifetime)

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Bryton James – "The Young and The Restless" (CBS)
Cassius Willis – "The Young and The Restless" (CBS)
Cornelius Smith, Jr. – "All My Children" (ABC)
Terrell Tilford – "One Life To Live" (ABC)
Texas Battle – "The Bold and the Beautiful" (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Daphnee Duplaix – "One Life to Live" (ABC)
Debbi Morgan – "All My Children" (ABC)
Eva Marcille – "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)
Tatyana Ali – "The Young and The Restless" (CBS)
Tonya Lee Williams – "The Young and the Restless" (CBS)

Outstanding News/ Information – (Series or Special)
"Anderson Cooper 360: President Obama's African Journey" (CNN)
"CNN Presents: Reclaiming the Dream 2" (CNN)
"The Inauguration of Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States" (BET)
"Judge Mathis" (Syndicated)
"Leading Women: India.Arie, Dr. Maya Angelou" (Centric)

Outstanding Talk Series
"Lopez Tonight" (TBS)
"The Mo'Nique Show" (BET)
"The Tyra Banks Show" (CW)
"The View" (ABC)
"The Wanda Sykes Show" (FOX)

Outstanding Reality Series
"American Idol 8" (FOX)
"America's Next Top Model" (CW)
"Dancing With the Stars" (ABC)
"Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" (ABC)
"Real Housewives of Atlanta" (Bravo)

Outstanding Variety – (Series or Special)
"BET Awards 2009" (BET)
"Bill Cosby: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor" (PBS)
"The Michael Jackson Memorial: Celebrating the Life of Michael Jackson"
(ABC, BET, CNN, MTV, NBC)
"Wanda Sykes: I'ma Be Me" (HBO)
"We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial" (HBO)

Outstanding Children's Program
"The Backyardigans" (Nickelodeon)
"Dora The Explorer" (Nickelodeon)
"Go, Diego, Go" (Nickelodeon)
"True Jackson, VP" (Nickelodeon)
"Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie" (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – (Series or Special)
Caitlin Sanchez – "Dora the Explorer" (Nickelodeon)
Keke Palmer – "True Jackson, VP" (Nickelodeon)
LaShawn Jefferies – "The Backyardigans" (Nickelodeon)
Nick Cannon – "TeenNick HALO Awards" (TeenNick

http://www.naacpimageawards.net/41/home/

41st NAACP Image Awards Nominees - Motion Picture Categories

VIZ Cinema Presents "Tokyoscope" and SEGA's "Yakuza 3"

CRIME, HONOR, BETRAYAL AND DEATH THE MYSTIQUE OF JAPANESE YAKUZA GANGSTER FILMS IS EXPLORED AT VIZ CINEMA IN TOKYOSCOPE: THE WILD AND CRAZY WORLD OF JAPANESE CULT FILMS

New Lecture Series Launches In March With An Installment On Gangster Cinema; SEGA To Demo New Yakuza 3 Video Game

The shadowy and often bloody celluloid world of Japanese gangsters – hit men, loan sharks, outlaws, gamblers and tattooed tough guys – or “yakuza” cinema, is explored in detail in TokyoScope: The Wild & Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films, a new lecture series launching at VIZ Cinema on Friday, March 5th. TokyoScope, Vol.1 Yakuza Night Fever begins at 6:00pm with a reception and discussion to be hosted by Patrick Macias, Editor-in-Chief of Otaku USA, a leading national magazine on anime and Asian pop culture.

Also sponsored by SEGA® of America, the evening will feature highlights of Yakuza 3, the eagerly anticipated new release for the PlayStation 3 that debuts on March 9th. Preceding the release, SEGA will demonstrate Yakuza 3 in a special sneak preview and give away the actual game (valued at $54.99) to lucky 10 winners at the event. Tickets for the event are $10.00.

Macias’ hour-long lecture starts at 7:00pm and will trace the history of gangster cinema in Japan, highlighted with clips from such genre masterpieces as Brutal Tales of Chivalry, Battles Without Honor and Humanity, Dead or Alive, and Like a Dragon. Macias will discuss the culture of the yakuza genre and its action-packed, blood-soaked cinematography, along with themes of loyalty and betrayal these films often explore.

SEGA’s Yakuza 3 is the next chapter in the prestigious video game saga, offering an authentic, gritty and, often, violent story set in modern day Japan. Following the events of the previous game, Kazuma and Haruka (his adopted daughter) have left Kamurochoto to seek a new life in Okinawa where they manage an orphanage for children. However, their peaceful life is soon interrupted when a series of events unfold, pulling Kazuma back into the shadowy past he thought he had left behind. Making its first appearance exclusively on the PlayStation 3 platform, the rich story and vibrant world of Yakuza 3 lets players engage in intense brutal clashes on the streets of Okinawa, and the pulsating and, often, dangerous city of Tokyo where only the strongest will survive. Yakuza 3 will carry an ESRB rating of ‘M’ For Mature Audiences.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s first movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

District 9 an Exceptional Science Fiction Film

TRASH IN MY EYE No. 8 (of 2010) by Leroy Douresseaux

District 9 (2009)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: USA/New Zealand; Languages: English, Nyanja, Afrikaans
Running time: 112 minutes
MPAA – R for bloody violence and pervasive language
DIRECTOR: Neill Blomkamp
WRITERS: Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
PRODUCERS: Peter Jackson and Carolynne Cunningham
CINEMATOGRAHER: Trent Opaloch
EDITOR: Julian Clarke
Academy Award nominee

SCI-FI/DRAMA/ACTION

Starring: Sharlto Copley, Louis Minnaar, Vanessa Haywood, David James, Kenneth Nkosi, Nathalie Boltt, and Elizabeth Mkandawie, and Jason Cope

Last summer, the science fiction movie, District 9, took moviegoers by surprise. The movie first gained attention because it had been shepherded into existence by Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings). Eventually, director Neill Blomkamp’s socio-political parable stood on its own as an exceptional film.

District 9’s story began 20 years ago when an alien ship arrived on earth, coming to a dead stop over Johannesburg, South Africa. Humanity waited for the aliens’ hostile attack, which never came. Even the hope that the visitors would bring giant advances in technology proved to be an empty one. Instead, these aliens, whom humans derisively refer to as the “prawns” were refugees. After two decades, nearly a million prawns live in a makeshift Johannesburg encampment called District 9, as the world’s nations argue over what to do with them.

Now, control over the prawns belongs to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company contracted to relocate the aliens, by force if necessary, to a new settlement, District 10. MNU does not care about the aliens’ welfare, but the company’s weapons division is interested in finding a way to make the prawns’ awesome weaponry work, which no one on earth has thus far managed to do. Hapless MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), recently assigned to head the relocation task force, is about to unlock the secrets of the alien technology, a feat that will change his life and the fate of the aliens.

It is a wonder that a science fiction film with story elements that mirror so much of our world’s troubles can be such thrilling popcorn entertainment and social commentary. The social status of the prawns, their plight and predicament, and the way humans act towards them have a number of real world parallels: South Africa’s own system of apartheid; slavery, Jim Crow and segregation in the American South; Gaza; the expulsion of American Indians from their lands, the displacement of Iraqis due to the American invasion of Iraq, etc.

Yet District 9 is amazingly entertaining, probably because the deeper and more pointed meanings and messages are dressed in sci-fi and war simulation violence and action movie tropes. Co-writer and director Neill Blomkamp and co-writer Terri Tatchell have done something that is rare – create a science fiction film that speaks directly to the modern condition with relevance and meaning. Instead of wowing audiences with gaudy gadgets and impossible (and impractically designed) machines, vehicles, and space ships, Blomkamp and Tatchell wow us their execution of substantive science fiction that seems real.

At the heart of the film is the performance of Sharlto Copley as everyman, Wikus van der Merwe. Wikus is filled with ignorance, dim-witted preconceptions, and the urge to treat the aliens like children who have to have common sense beaten into them – the way White southerners used think of African-Americans (and some still do). Copley presents Wikus’ rise, fall, and rise again as a journey of both self-discovery and revelation. Wikus is a road map to our better selves, in regards to the way we treat others. That we can have a fun time with such a thoughtful film is due in large part to Copley’s underrated performance. District 9 is a winner.

8 of 10
A

NOTES:
2010 Academy Awards: 4 nominations: “Best Achievement in Editing” (Julian Clarke), “Best Achievement in Visual Effects” (Dan Kaufman, Peter Muyzers, Robert Habros, and Matt Aitken), “Best Motion Picture of the Year” (Peter Jackson, Carolynne Cunningham), and “Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material Previously Produced or Published” (Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell)

2010 BAFTA Awards: 7 nominations: Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay – Adapted, Best Sound, and Best Special Visual Effects

2010 Golden Globe Awards: 1 nomination for best screenplay-motion picture

Thursday, February 25, 2010

VIZ Cinema Offers "Mobile Suit Gundam" and Yakuza at New People

FUN EVENTS AT NEW PEOPLE AND VIZ CINEMA THROUGHOUT MARCH INCLUDE U.S. Premiere of Mobile Suit Gundam UC, JAPANESE YAKUZA GANGSTER CULTURE AND ARTIST SERIES FILM FESTIVAL

Theatre Announces Many Unique Activities Including NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival, Lecture On Anime Icon Hayao Miyazaki, U.S. Premiere Of Gundam UC And Screenings For 2010 San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

VIZ Cinema, the nation’s only movie theatre dedicated to Japanese film, has announced a variety of notable film screenings, festivals, lectures and other special events to be held throughout the month of March.

Tokyo Scope: The Wild and Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films:

Vol.1 YAKUZA NIGHT FEVER!
New activities kick off on March 5th with Tokyo Scope: The Wild and Crazy World of Japanese Cult Films. Come celebrate the launch of Japanese pop culture critic and Otaku USA Editor-in-Chief Patrick Macias’s new film/lecture series. Also sponsored by SEGA of America, the evening’s events begin at 6:00pm and will include a lecture on the history of Japanese yakuza (gangster) cinema and the debut of SEGA’s highly anticipated new video game, Yakuza 3, for the PlayStation 3. Tickets are only $10.00.

NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival
VIZ Cinema will present the NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival, a special collection of six insightful documentaries each profiling a unique Japanese contemporary artist. The 4-day festival runs March 6th – 9th and features the U.S. theatrical premieres of several films featuring the Neo-Japanese “Hip-Hop-Samurai” painter Hisashi Tenmyouya, the cynical artistic genius of Makoto Aida, and the life and work of master sculptor Katsura Funakoshi. By popular demand, the festival has announced encore showings of three documentaries on artists Yoshitomo Nara, Yayoi Kusama, and photographer Daido Moriyama. Summaries of each film and a list of screening times are available at: www.vizcinema.com. Special festival passes are available for $30.00 offer access to ANY screening at ANY time during the festival! General admission tickets for individual films are available for $10.00 each, Senior (+62) and Children (under 12) are $8.

NEW PEOPLE Artist Series Festival Films Include:
Hisashi Tenmyouya : Samurai Nouveau: 3/6 Sat, 1:00pm & 3/7 Sun, 3:00pm
Makoto Aida : Cynic in the Playground: 3/6 Sat, 3:00pm & 3/7 Sun, 5:00pm
Katsura Funakoshi: Whispering Gaze: 3/6 Sat, 5:00pm & 3/8 Mon, 7:00pm
Traveling with Yoshitomo Nara: 3/7 Sun, 7:00pm & 3/9 Tue, 5:00pm
Yayoi Kusama: I Love ME: 3/7 Sun, 1:00pm & 3/9 Tue, 7:00pm
Daido Moriyama: Stray Dog of Tokyo: 3/6 Sat, 7:00pm & 3/8 Mon, 5:00pm

The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki
Don’t miss a rare chance to attend a lecture given Fred Schodt and Beth Cary, the translators of Starting Point: 1979-1996, an autobiography written by Academy Award winning film director and anime visionary, Hayao Miyazaki! Hear some interesting stories of these two recognized experts on anime and manga who spent time with Miyazaki and glean deeper insights into his world of incredible imagination. The Allure of Hayao Miyazaki will be held on March 10th at 7:00pm; tickets are $8.00.

San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival

VIZ Cinema also partners with the 28th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival to present Dear Doctor, by award-winning director Miwa Nishikawa (Sway and Wild Berries). Dear Doctor is a drama centering on a physician that goes missing after moving to his post in a remote village with no other doctors. Notable for exposing the complicated human psyche, this touching film plays for one night only on Wednesday, March 17th at 9:15pm. Information and advance tickets ($12.00) are available at the festival website http://festival.asianamericanmedia.org/2010/.

U.S. Premiere Of Mobile Suit Gundam UC
Anime fans won’t want to miss VIZ Cinema’s just-added week long screening of the Mobile Suit Gundam UC feature film (58 min) running March 19th – 25th. Gundam has been popular for more than 30 years and this brand new story is based on a bestseller written by acclaimed science fiction author Harutoshi Fukui. The film makes a special U.S. debut only one month after its original premiere in Japan and was made possible via a special arrangement with Studio Sunrise.

In the year U.C. 0096, a colony called Industrial 7 is the stage for a young boy named Banagher's encounter with destiny: the white Mobile Suit called the Unicorn Gundam. A mysterious Laplace's Box becomes the basis for a galactic scale battle. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to catch the U.S. theatrical of the latest Gundam movie! Tickets are $8.00; no discounts apply.

VIZ Cinema is the nation’s only movie theatre devoted exclusively to Japanese film and anime. The 143-seat subterranean theatre is located in the basement of the NEW PEOPLE building and features plush seating, digital as well as 35mm projection, and a THX®-certified sound system.

NEW PEOPLE offers the latest films, art, fashion and retail brands from Japan and is the creative vision of the J-Pop Center Project and VIZ Pictures, a distributor and producer of Japanese live action film. Located at 1746 Post Street, the 20,000 square foot structure features a striking 3-floor transparent glass façade that frames a fun and exotic new environment to engage the imagination into the 21st Century. A dedicated web site is also now available at: www.NewPeopleWorld.com.